Raspberry Wasabi Tofu and how my work has taken over my life

Most of my friends are probably sick of hearing this, but I love my job, I love my team and I love, love, love the fantastic food I get to eat at my super awesome workplace. :)

Before I joined the Carrots family, I insisted that I have a flexible work schedule so that I have plenty of time to pursue my existing passions - the primary ones being my blog here and my artwork. But a week into the start of my career as Countess of Cuisine and Jollification (yes, that's my real designation) my world started to revolve around my life at Carrots. On the days I was at home, I often found myself thinking, "oh it would be so nice to be at Carrots right now." I figured that once the novelty wore off I'd get back to being myself again. Four months down the line, I've begun to accept that nothing of that sort is about to happen. :P

Of course the downside to all of this is that certain other areas of my life have begun to suffer. I barely make jewellery anymore and I haven't touched my favourite toy, polymer clay, in forever. I don't spend time experimenting in the kitchen as often as I used to and as a result there's a lack in blog-able content.

I've been feeling a little more guilty about my fairly silent blog than any of the other stuff. So you can imagine my delight when I was going through some old food photographs and found this recipe that I had created long ago but missed sharing here. Two recipes within a span of one week. Yes! :D

Raspberry Wasabi Tofu

1/2 block Silken Tofu
3 T Bread Crumbs

For the marinade:
3 T Raspberry Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp Wasabi Paste
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/4 tsp Sugar or Liquid Jaggery
Salt

- Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a wide glass bowl
- Drain the tofu and slice it into large squares
- Place the tofu in the marinade and gently toss to coat
- Cover and keep in the fridge overnight (about 8-10 hours)

- Heat a pan or skillet on medium heat
- Put the bread crumbs on a plate
- Dip the tofu into the bread crumbs and coat it on all sides
- Toast the tofu on the hot pan

- Keep a close watch and flip carefully a few times during the toasting
process to ensure the bread crumbs don't stick to the pan
- Once the crumbs are browned to your liking, the tofu is ready
- Serve with your favourite hot sauce (you know it's Tabasco Chipotle for me) drizzled over the tofu
- Enjoy! :)

Pumpkin Tofu Rosemary Methi Roti Ravioli

Want to guess why this ravioli is heart shaped? Yep, I made it at the beginning of February with the full intention of posting it here on Valentine's Day. But life got crazy, time zipped by and now I suddenly find myself in April, remembering I had to share this recipe with you all.

Ah well, heart shaped food on April Fool's Day? I'll just file it under the Love Fool theme and call it a day. ;)

Now let me type the recipe while I'm still in the mood to do so. As always, adjust the flavours to suit your tastes and ingredient availability. Serve the ravioli with some freshly crushed pepper on top and it's pure heaven!



Pumpkin Tofu Rosemary Methi Roti Ravioli

For the Pasta Dough:
2 C Whole Wheat Flour
½ C Kasuri Methi (Dried Fenugreek Leaves)
½ tsp Sesame Seeds
¼ tsp Turmeric
Salt
Water

- Mix everything into a soft, elastic dough
- Cover and keep aside

For the Stuffing:
½ kg Tofu - water pressed out and crumbled
1 Small Onion - finely chopped and lightly stir fried (preferably without oil)
1 Japanese Pumpkin (small, orange kind) - de-seeded, chopped and steamed or nuked
1 C Spinach - chopped roughly
¼ tsp Dried Rosemary
Tabasco Chipotle Sauce
Salt

- Place everything in a large bowl and roughly mash together with your fingers or a fork
- Taste and adjust the flavours
- Keep aside

For the Sauce:
5-8 Tomatoes
7-10 Cloves of Garlic
1 Green Chilli
½ tsp Jaggery
Tabasco Chipotle Sauce
Salt

- Blend everything as smoothly as possible (few chunks are okay)
- Transfer to a pan and simmer for a few minutes while stirring
- Cover and keep aside

How to proceed:

- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil
- Roll out the dough into 2mm thick sheet
- Cut out hearts (or any other shape of your choice) using a cookie cutter
- Place a spoonful of stuffing between two hearts
- Gently and firmly press the sides to seal completely
- Keep aside on a plate and use the same procedure to make more ravioli hearts
- Gently drop the ravioli into the boiling water in batches for four or five
- They will rise to the top in about 3-5 minutes
- Lift them out with a slotted spoon and keep aside on a plate
- Prepare the rest of the raviolis in the same way
- Serve hot with lots of sauce ladled on
- Enjoy! :)

VGF is Great Fun! - Sunday, 23rd March

VGF is back! :)

For the past two weeks, hubby and I have been working hard on organising our favourite vegan fair once again. If you're in Bangalore this weekend, this is an event you don't want to miss. If you're vegan, aspiring to be vegan, or simply curious about a vegan lifestyle, VGF is an opportunity to taste a variety of delicious vegan foods and enjoy some vegan art and bath and body products all under one roof.

***No entry fee. All are welcome!***
Date: Sunday, 23rd March 2014
Time: 12 noon to 7 p.m.
Venue: #28, Penthouse, 3rd Floor, 'Citi Centre', Church Street, Bangalore - 560001

~~~To reduce wastage:~~~
* We will be providing a biodegradable disposable plate to each person. Please reuse the same throughout the event.
* We also encourage you to bring your own plates, spoons and cups if possible.
* We will have carton parcel boxes available but we request that you bring your own reusable containers and bags.

We'll have two vegan food demos this time around - Arun (of Samabhava) will show you how to make Coconut Mylk Coffee and at Chef Ram (our bakery chef at Carrots) and I will show you how to make Cashew Mylk and quick Chocolate Truffles. Plus, a special guest, Jeremy Occhipinti, will be there with his guitar, singing for us and uplifting the atmosphere. :)

Here is the list of items that you can grab at VGF this time:

Cakes and Cupcakes:
Edible Flower Cake - Taantraa // Organic Handbaking
Pineapple Pastry - Carrots, The Healthy Kitchen
German Chocolate Cake - Carrots, The Healthy Kitchen
Mango Almond Cake - Paradigm Shift
Chocolate Rum Cake - Paradigm Shift
Chocolate Truffle Cake - Paradigm Shift
Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes - Paradigm Shift

Muffins:
Crunchy Moong Dal Muffins - Taantraa // Organic Handbaking
Aromatic Orange Almond Muffins - Taantraa // Organic Handbaking
Rose Coconut Muffins - Taantraa // Organic Handbaking
Chocolate Muffins - Taantraa // Organic Handbaking
Strawberry Muffins - Taantraa // Organic Handbaking

Cookies:
Whole Wheat Cookies - Samabhava
Oat Cookies - Paradigm Shift
Coconut Cookies - Paradigm Shift
Dark Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies - Veganosaurus

Desserts:
Tiramisu Cheesecake - Peace of Cake
Cashew Chocolate Fudge - Samabhava
Chocolate Mousse Ice Cream - Carrots, The Healthy Kitchen

Snacks:
Samosa - Sharmila
Peanut Dahi Puri - Sudha
Gluten Free Bread with Coconut Butter - Carrots, The Healthy Kitchen
Mini Burgers - Carrots, The Healthy Kitchen

Main Dishes:
Peanut Curd Rice - Veganosaurus
Special Khichdi - Carrots, The Healthy Kitchen
Thai Tofu Red Curry - Paradigm Shift
Basil Fried Rice - Paradigm Shift
Thai Chilli Garlic Tofu - Paradigm Shift
Spicy Rice with Raitha - Samabhava

Salads:
Raw Papaya Salad - Paradigm Shift

Spreads and Dips:
Plain Cheese - Millie's Vegan Cheese
Herbed Cheese - Millie's Vegan Cheese
Garlic Cheese - Millie's Vegan Cheese
Peas Pâté - Millie's Vegan Cheese

Beverages:
Spicy Lemon Juice - Veganopia
Cashew Mylk Strawberry Coffee - Veganopia
Soy Buttermylk - Carrots, The Healthy Kitchen

Miscellaneous:
Lazy Bum Cake Mix - Veganosaurus
Lip Balms - Burst of Happyness
Handmade Soaps - Burst of Happyness
Kitchen Art - Scatter the Batter

Watermelon Gazpacho and Appreciating Myself

Happy New Year my dah-lings! :)

I know, I know, we're almost a month into 2014. But I've been so busy that I barely noticed January zipping by. There's been *so much* to do on various fronts, not the least of which is my job at our local vegan restaurant. I've turned into one of those people who need to make task lists and spreadsheets to keep track of things. Sheesh!

I've come to realise that there's a sore need for me to compartmentalise my time and leave chunks of breathing space, just to relax and reset. It's also extremely important that I periodically reflect on what I've accomplished and achieved. Otherwise it feels like I'm only doing, doing, doing things with a lot more to do but not taking note of and appreciating how much is getting done.

Most people who know me, especially those who follow and participate in the "I am thankful..." posts on my Art by Susmitha page on Facebook, know that I'm a huge believer in the power of Gratitude and that I make it a point to consciously give thanks for all the wonderful things in my life. From now on, I'm adding the practice of Conscious Self-Appreciation to my daily, or at least weekly, habits too.

It goes something like this:

- I rode my bicycle all the way from home to work this weekend. I'm freaking awesome!
- I created a twitter account for Carrots last weekend and live-tweeted photographs throughout the Portuguese Vegan Cooking Demo by Chef Nandan. How very cool and hip of me. :P
- I changed sheets, vacuumed, did laundry, washed vessels, scrubbed the bathroom walls and generally got a bunch of household chores out of the way this week. Freaking super woman, eh?!
- I took the lead on organising and pulling off a nice candle light dinner event at the restaurant for a really sweet, young couple. Aww I'm such a sappy, romantic. ;)
- I got a jewellery order package mailed out. Yay me!
- I took a proper, full day off from work, without even checking my email or social media pages no matter how tempted I was to do so. Brownie points for self-care.
- I'm getting this blog post done right now. Yeah! I kickass. :D

This is so much fun! By the end of this short list I'm feeling super good about myself. I invite you to try it too. It'll be quite addictive.

Go ahead, leave a comment and proudly tell me all the things you feel awesome about accomplishing recently. :)

Meanwhile, here's another thing I'm proud of - a delicious, refereshing Watermelon Gazpacho!

I created it for our Vegan Bangalore monthly potluck last weekend. The gorgeous red-pink colour makes it look like I whizzed some rubies together in my mixie. :P It's so pretty, and yummy that I had to take pictures and share the recipe with you.



Apart from all the fruit and veggie chopping work, this cold soup is super easy to prepare. Here is how you do it:

- Blend together:
1 3/4 small Watermelons
1/4 Beet
1 Red Carrot (Gajad)
4 small Tomatoes
1 Ripe Chilli (green chilli that's turned red but hasn't dried yet)
8 cloves of Garlic
2 T Lime Juice
1 tsp Raspberry Wine Vinegar (Balsamic can be used instead)
2 T Nutritional Yeast (optional)
Salt (to taste)

- Stir in:
1/4 Watermelon - chopped
10 Strawberries - sliced
1 small Red Onion - chopped finely
Thyme - lightly crushed
Rosemary - lightly crushed
Pepper - crushed well

- Taste and adjust the flavours.
- Pour into a vessel/container, cover and chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
- Slurp and Enjoy! :)

Have a wonderful 2014, filled with an abundance of gratitude, love, laughter and joy! I love you all. *hugs* :)

VGF, Carrots, VVP - updates from my yummilicious vegan life! :)

I've been MIA from my blog for over a month now because a lot has been happening in my life. All good things. :) So thought I'd give you all a quick update with lots of pictures.

In November, hubby and I organized VGF once again. This was the second time we did VGF (the first one was in Feb). It involved a lot of planning and work but in the end, it was totally worth it! :)

This article in The Hindu Metroplus clearly explains what VGF is all about.

Here are a some photos from the event:

The Food

The Sellers

The Demo and Visitors

And here's the poster we created for VGF:

We plan to have VGF a few times a year. Follow our VGF Facebook Page for more pictures and information.

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In other news, my Tropical Garnet Cocktail/Mocktail won the best beverage prize in the Virtual Vegan Potluck that was held in November. Yay! This is the second time my beverage has won a VVP prize, the first was my Hot Spiced Masala Chai last November. :)

Check out this cool video announcing all the winners in the various categories on the VVP website.

I'll share pics of all the prize goodies once they arrive. :)

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Finally, I've been saving the best for last. From the beginning of December, I've started working at our local vegan restaurant, Carrots. After much thought, my hubbs came up with a designation name for me which encapsulates the various roles I've taken on at Carrots - Countess of Cuisine and Jollification. Yes, that's my official designation and will be on my business cards too. :D

I'm at the restaurant a few days a week and I'm totally loving it so far. The job, the environment, the people, the YUMMMM food! It's all awesome!!! :)

My first pet project as soon as I started at Carrots has been to work with Chefs Gurung and Ram to create a fantastic vegan buffet for New Year's Eve. I'm really proud of all the dishes we've come up with. If you're in Bangalore, this is a must-taste vegan spread! The full menu will be announced tomorrow on the Facebook Event Page.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with photos of some of the dishes to drool over. :)

Almond Jowar Cookies

Avial

Cannelloni

Cinnamon Rolls

Grilled Tofu with Super Spicy Sweet Sauce

Hot Chocolate

Leek and Ginger Soup

Obsessive Chocolative Disorder

Cowboy Pepper Salad

Raw Orange Ginger Tarts

Garlicky Pesto Rolls

Potatoes with Jamaican Sweet Sauce

Roasted Peanut and Red Wine Vinegar Dipping Sauce

Walnut Waldorf Salad

Spaghetti Rolls

Sweet Potato Pie

Tiramisu Cupcakes

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Wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season and a fantastic 2014! See you all here next year. :)

*Hugs*